GEOG 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Outwash Plain, Coastal Erosion, Pedogenesis
Document Summary
They exist in areas where annual snowfall exceeds annual snowmelt. The weight of the snow causes it to compact and form ice. A glacier is a large body of ice slowly moving downward or spreading outward on a land surface. Some glaciers may appear to be stationary but that"s because the melting and evaporation of at the glacier"s edge equal the speed of the ice advance. Permafrost - a permanently frozen layer of the ground. Because permafrost prevents the downward percolation of moisture, the surface soil may become saturated with water during the brief summer period when only a thin layer thaws. The weight of glaciers breaks up underlying rock and prepares it for transportation by the moving mass of ice, consequently, glaciers change landforms by erosion. Glacial trough - deep u-shaped valley visible only after the glacier has receded. Fiords - arms of the sea formed if the valley is below sea level.
